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0882-5963/$ see front matter doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2006.12.003 THERE ARE NUMEROUS challenges experienced by nursing educators as they attempt to incorporate pediatric health care content into undergraduate nursing programs for nursing students. These challenges include the following: a greater focus on adult care; increased pressure to include content on topics such as bioterrorism, ethical–legal dilemmas, risk behaviors, and genetics as well as genomics; limited numbers of pediatric faculty to teach pediatric health care content; and limitations in clinical opportunities for students to be exposed to and participate in pediatric nursing practice (American Nurses Association and Society of Pediatric Nurses, 2003a, 2003b; Society of Pediatric Nurses, 2005). The Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) Education Committee addressed these challenges to providing pediatric nursing education in the position statement, bChild Health Content Must Remain in the Undergraduate Curriculum.Q This position statement highlights that all educational programs preparing nurse generalists for licensure as professional RNs must contain content related to family-centered nursing care of children, preferably in a free-standing pediatric nursing course. There are numerous additional recommendations in this position statement that are crucial for all pediatric nurses to support so that our future

Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, embraced the arms of 440 excited conference participants as SPN celebrated and held its15th anniversary and conference. With the inspiration of the founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence, this conference focused on SPN as a growing force of pediatric nurses committed to honoring our history of pediatric practice, education, and research while at the same time exploring the endless possibilities of pediatric nursing both today and in the future. Three diverse preconference workshops kicked off the conference: (1) Certification Preparation Course; (2) End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium, Train the Trainer Course; and (3) Help is on the Way: New Ideas in Education for the Patient, Family, Staff and Student. All three workshops were considered a success by the participants and stimulated much discussion on these varied topics. An exhilarating grand opening of exhibits and reception was sponsored by corporate member Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The 40 exhibitors reflected a wide array of interests for pediatric nurses including job opportunities, pediatric nursing education, strategies for pediatric health care, and printed materials and textbooks for pediatric nurses and family members of sick children. In the opening session, Lynn Wieck, PhD, RN, challenged the conference participants to consider the depth of pediatric nursing with her presentation, Dawn of a New Era in Nursing: Generations at Work. This inspirational presentation highlighted the need to merge the strengths of the aging and knowledgeable pediatric nurse with those of the

From the University of California, San Francisco, CA. Corresponding author. Mary E. Lynch, RN, MS, MPH, PNP, University of California, San Francisco, CA. E-mail: mary.lynch@nursing.ucsf.edu. 0882-5963/$ see front matter doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2008.01.001 WHY SHOULD YOU be a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN)? To be an effective member, however, you must first consider your clinical practice focus. By becoming a pediatric nurse, you have made a serious professional practice commitment to provide health care for healthy or sick children and their families in various caregiving environments. Your clinical practice focus reflects individuals with a substantial health–illness trajectory that includes crucial health promotion interventions such as obesity prevention, pediatric critical care, and palliative/end-of-life care for dying children. Your population is dynamic not only in growth and development but also in the complexity of the unique health care needs that are experienced by infants, children, and adolescents. These young and vulnerable individuals are at risk for numerous health care challenges, which are also influenced by multiple socioeconomic factors that impact on their access to health care services and subsequent risk of experiencing health care disparities. Two examples of these complex pediatric health challenges include childhood obesity and childhood cancer. Approximately one third of all children and adolescents are overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2006). These individuals are at greater risk for experiencing numerous health conditions including type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, and depression. However, overweight and obese children and adolescents are also more likely to experience adult health conditions at an earlier age including coronary artery disease, kidney failure